In "Quantentheorie", Ivy persuades Viktor to accompany Rocky as he retrieves the car, without killing him. She shows no hesitation in playfully attacking Viktor in order to gain his assent.

Ivy meets Freckle in "Surreption", when Rocky brings Freckle to Little Daisy. Ivy takes an immediate and intense interest in Freckle, though his reaction is akin to terror. Though Rocky is atypically protective of Freckle and rejects Ivy's suggestion that he bring Freckle to Lackadaisy, Ivy distracts Rocky and then slips a Lackadaisy pin to Freckle.

Ivy next appears in "Growltiger", dressed up and reading McClure's in Little Daisy while waiting for Freckle to arrive. Freckle shows up in "Latecomer", but his anxiety prevents him from going inside until Ivy approaches him. They make their way to Lackadaisy in "Wishy-washy". Ivy cuts Horatio off abruptly when he asks whether Ivy has, "found another one already". While Ivy wants to dance with Freckle, he does not share her interest, and is surprised to find himself in a speakeasy at all. The issue is rendered moot when Rocky and the the band practically run them over. Rocky is less than pleased to see Freckle, and Ivy explains that she invited him because Rocky would not, and because her last "dance partner broke his arms and legs in some horrible accident". Due to the incoming pig farmers, Rocky begins leading them out of the club, and in "Killjoy", Zib manhandles Ivy out of the club. Ivy tells Horatio that she will go to the garage to reenter Lackadaisy in "Caveat".

Ivy makes her way into the garage in "Rowdydow", only to find Benjy Jessup making his way toward the exit. Seeing Viktor approaching from the other direction, Benjy attempts to shoot him, but Ivy throws off his aim. Benjy almost shoots Ivy, though this appears to be accidental, before Viktor punches him out. In "Stranglehold", Ivy realizes Viktor has been shot, and though he claims...poorly...that he does not need a doctor, Ivy leaves to get assistance, though Benjy asks her not to. Ivy proceeds to call Doctor Quackenbush from Little Daisy in "Quacksalver". After telling or reminding Quackenbush that she is Atlas's goddaughter, Ivy mentions that Quackenbush owes them a favor, though Quackenbush apparently believes that it is Lackadaisy who owes him a favor. Though Ivy notes that Quackenbush is, "awfully uppity for a horse doctor parading as a-", Quackenbush agrees to look at Viktor...after Ivy agrees to pay in cash. Seeing Wick outside Little Daisy, Ivy rushes to him, exclaiming that he has money, and in "Wherewithal" plays on his sense of chivalry to convince him to pay for Viktor's medical care.

Ivy returns to the garage in "Houdini", finding Viktor in a rare state of vulnerability. Ivy asks where Benjy has gone to, and after Viktor claims he let Benjy go, Ivy asks Viktor what really happened. Viktor then claims that Benjy vanished, only to have Ivy call him a bad liar, though she does not press the issue further. It seems evident that she has not noticed the tail sticking out of the back of the truck. By "Lassitude", Doctor Quackenbush has already arrived and removed the bullet from Viktor's chest as Mitzi and Zib arrive from Lackadaisy.

Volume 2

Ivy next appears in "Academia", when Rocky and Freckle visit her college because Rocky intends to use her as a shield against Viktor. Ivy tells her friends that her father wants her to come home for the summer; she is intentionally failing English Composition so that she will be able to stay in St. Louis to take a make-up class. Their discussion is interrupted when Ivy sees Chad, her ex-boyfriend. She is disappointed when he retreats from her, and wonders, "why does that always happen?" Upon seeing Rocky, Ivy assaults him in "Bee-line", blaming him for the prior night's events. She is mollified when Rocky explains his reason for coming to her, and tells him that Viktor is "pretty listless"; she visited him earlier, left the radio tuned to "something cheerful" and intends to bring him copies of Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Ivy, Rocky and Freckle arrive at Viktor's apartment in "Deadeye". Though Viktor slams the door in their faces, Ivy persists in entering. After dropping the magazines in Viktor's lap, she introduces him to Freckle, declaring that they are dating. At that, Viktor directs his glare beam at Freckle. In "Dotage", their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Bapka, Viktor's upstairs neighbor, who desires Viktor's assistance with her sink. When he is unable to get to his feet due to a coughing fit related to his injuries, Freckle and Ivy go in his place at Rocky's suggestion. While Freckle examines Mrs. Bapka's sink in "Handyman", Ivy asks him whether it is true that he killed the pig farmers. Before Freckle can respond he is distracted as sardines[2] spill from a sink pipe onto his face, and withdraws from under the sink without answering Ivy's question, leaving her dubious. Ivy and Freckle talk further in "Sandwich", with Ivy trying to determine why Freckle is spending time working with Rocky if he does not like what he did the prior evening. She dismisses his claim that he is working with Rocky just because he needed a job, but before she can gain more useful information from him they are both distracted by the sandwiches Mrs. Bapka has made for them...with the sardines Freckle removed from her sink pipe earlier.

In "Rhubarb", Ivy returns to Viktor's room after Freckle and Rocky have left. She asks him whether he is the reason that Chad is afraid of her, and he replies that, "Chad vas...bad". Ivy next asks about Claude, and Viktor states that, "Claude vas...flawed". Ivy proceeds to ask about Cecil, and Viktor says that Cecil was "no good". Ivy asks why Viktor has been sabotaging her social life when they are friends, but Viktor states that they are not friends and that she should not stay in St. Louis, especially given the events of the prior evening. Ivy asks whether Viktor is playing "concerned patriarch" only because he is bored due to his injuries keeping him from the activities he used to perform, but before he can respond she proclaims him a "monster" and leaves. In "Gallivant", Ivy yells to Viktor from outside his apartment that she is giving up on him. While storming off she runs into Freckle and Rocky. Rocky offers her a lift, and after pausing to kiss Freckle and stating that, "we'll do it again", she sits between them. They arrive at Freckle's house in "Homestead", where Ivy horrifies Rocky and Freckle by asking whether she can meet Freckle's mother. As Freckle gets out of the car Ivy reminds him that he owes her a date. Rocky then asks Ivy whether she would like to go "location scouting" with him, an offer she happily accepts.

In "Begorra", Ivy and Rocky travel to a farm located in Defiance, and locate a spring house filled with bottles of liquor. Ivy asks Rocky how she can get Freckle to talk to her. Rocky suggests sports, but when Ivy indicates that she would prefer a more profound conversation, Rocky warns her against it. While they are peering in at the booze a source of illumination comes up from behind them, drawing Ivy's attention. The light is revealed to be from the headlamps of a hearse that is facing them in "Corpse-lights". After Rocky and Ivy provide explanations for their presence at the spring house that apparently fail to satisfy whomever's within the hearse, it moves closer to them. Ivy and Rocky throw a soda bottle and a rock at the front of the hearse, causing little apparent damage. The hearse then charges forward, prompting Ivy and Rocky to run for a nearby cornfield. In "Dead-run" the hearse pursues them through the corn. Rocky and Ivy try to hide in a barn to escape the hearse, only to realize the barn already has a car-sized hole in it. They next place a sickle mower across the barn door opening, expecting it will flatten the hearse's tires, but the sickle mower becomes lodged beneath the hearse as it continues to pursue them. Rocky and Ivy flee into another cornfield in "Haymaker", but trip over an irrigation pipe. The pursuing hearse severs the pipe and hits Rocky. He sustains a head injury shortly before a piece of the pipe lands on him along with the sickle mower. When Ivy finds him he has a visible head wound and is unconscious beneath the pipe and mower.

Other

"Scrapbook" includes a photo of Ivy and two companions wearing laboratory coats.
In "Tannenbaum", Ivy gives Viktor a green-and-yellow hat and matching yellow scarf, though only because she does not want her father to know that she spent money.

Ivy appears in a New Year's picture taken in Lackadaisy in 1926, shown in "New Year".

Apperance and personality

Ivy was born on May 20, 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri, making her 18 years old at the time of the comic.[3][1][4] Ivy's height is approximately 5'1".[5]

Ivy has a somewhat forceful personality. She is likely one of the few individuals who can assault Viktor without him retaliating[6] and has no qualms about expressing a strong interest in Freckle immediately upon meeting him. [7] Ivy appears to have few qualms against deceiving her father. In "Academia" she tells her friends that she is failing English on purpose so that she can stay in St. Louis, while in "Tannenbaum" she gives Viktor a hat and scarf so that her father will not know that she spent money. Tracy has described Ivy as a "fickle teenager". She is fond of petit fours.[3]

"Growltiger" establishes that Ivy is taking classes at a university, and apparently enjoys reading McClure's, while "Scrapbook" shows Ivy and two companions wearing laboratory coats. She is a member of her school's rifle team.[1] Her college campus is seen in "Academia", and includes a building modeled on St. Louis University's DuBourg Hall.[8] Mitzi idly asks whether Ivy has, "lured another poor boy into meeting you", suggesting that Ivy may have a penchant for bringing men to Little Daisy and possibly Lackadaisy. This is brought up again in "Wishy-washy", in which Horatio asks whether Ivy has "found another one". Ivy notes to Rocky and Freckle that her previous "dance partner" had his arms and legs broken in a horrible accident.

Ivy has an ex-boyfriend, Chad, who appears in "Academia" with broken arms and legs and retreats when he sees her, leading Ivy to ask sadly, "Why does that always happen?", indicating that Ivy has had similar experiences in the past, though whether with Chad or other individuals is unclear.

Human

Relationships

Atlas

Freckle

Ivy meets Freckle in "Surreption" and immediately takes a strong interest in him, though Freckle appears frightened of her, or at least her forthrightness. In "Wishy-washy" Ivy wants to dance with Freckle, though he does not share her interest and appears more scared by the idea than anything else. Nevertheless, in "Deadeye" Ivy tells Viktor that she has decided that she and Freckle are dating. Ivy asks Freckle whether it is true that he killed the pig farmers in "Handyman", but he fails to answer the question and leaves her dubious.

In "Gallivant", Ivy kisses Freckle while getting into a car with him and Rocky, and states that they will kiss again in the future. Freckle seems agreeable to this.

During "Begorra", Ivy asks Rocky how she can get Freckle to talk to her. When she dismisses Rocky's suggestion of discussing sports because she wants to pry deeper into Freckle's pscyhe, Rocky advises her against it.

Viktor

Ivy appears to have a well-established relationship with Viktor. She is willing to confront him physically without fear of retribution, considering him a "big teddy bear"; it's unclear whether Viktor enjoys or merely tolerates these confrontations.[6] Ivy is one of the few people whom Viktor appears to let his guard down around, as she has actually seen him in a vulnerable state.[11]

In "Rhubarb", Ivy realizes that Viktor has been sabotaging her social life and that he does not want her to be involved with Lackadaisy. She rebuffs his concerns, calling him a "monster" and storming out. In "Gallivant", Ivy yells to Viktor from outside his apartment that she is giving up on him.

Wick

Ivy and Wick are familiar with each other as of "Wherewithal", likely because Wick is a long-standing patron of Lackadaisy. Ivy knows Wick well enough to play on his sense of chivalry when it suits her purposes. Their relationship appears to be somewhat formal, with Wick referring to Ivy as, "Miss Pepper".

Zib

Zib appears to show some degree of deference to Ivy, calling her "Miss Pepper".[12]

Backstage

Ivy is based upon a real cat owned by Tracy. A painting of her can be seen at "Ivy the Cat".

Though it has not been made explicitly clear in the comic, Tracy has noted that Ivy is going to college at SLU.[13]

In response to criticism regarding Ivy, Tracy noted that Ivy will play an integral part in the story; she is not incidental.[14]

"Preview 0004" shows Ivy and Freckle sitting together more companionably than has been shown in the comic thus far. "Reader Question: Ivy and Viktor" reveals Ivy's reaction to the notion that people might fancy the notion of her and Viktor in a relationship.